


Tryin'

by FloatingPurple



Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: AU – No Negan, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Eventual Fluff, F/F, F/M, M/M, Rating May Change, Warnings May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-06
Updated: 2016-05-10
Packaged: 2018-06-06 19:23:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6766705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FloatingPurple/pseuds/FloatingPurple
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Originally started out as another story called "Pieces of You", this story is set roughly two/three years after the arrival of our survivors in Alexandria. Settling into life there, and moving on, was easier for some than others; People paired up, found ways to make life work inside the walls…<br/>Until recently the hardest things they had to deal with was finding food and group politics. But now no one could ignore the fact that something was going on with the Walkers, not with the reports coming back from group runs. There was more of them, They were marked deliberately by someone, and it was beginning to look like they were under attack without knowing who their enemies were…<br/>Then there was Kat and Charlie – Turning up out of nowhere, half starved and in desperate need of help… Do they open their gates and let them in, knowing somebody out there was out to get them?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Charlie took a deep breath and checked the map again. He adjusted the compass and turned the map around until he knew exactly what his bearings were. He looked down to his left, where Kat had dropped to the forest floor. She lay on her back with her bony knees poking through her jeans, her arms spread-eagled.

            "It's really not that much further. Come on," he told her. There was no reply. "Seriously, come on! Get up!" He stuffed the map in his back pocket, compass swinging around his grimy neck, and grabbed hold of Kat by the wrist, hauling her up onto her feet. Tall for his fourteen years, he still had some growing to do to catch up with Kat. He drew what strength he had left to take her weight against him, then wrapping her arm over his thin shoulders, took a tight hold of her waist band. He marched them through the forest as he had done the last day and a half, with Kat leaning on him and dragging each step to get them where they need to be. Another hour and the trees began to thin out. He saw the glint of the steel metal wall up ahead and he finally thought that they might actually make it. They stumbled through the edge of the tree line, and rounded a burnt out church, weaving in between an odd assortment of vehicles left at odd angles to the road.

            "Freeze right where you're at!"

            Charlie turned and looked up at the guards, rifles aimed straight back at him. He let Kat slide back to the floor as gently as he could. The large sign beneath their post read - ALEXANDRIA SAFE ZONE - they'd made it.

            "This Alexandria? We were told we could find help here," he shouted up. The two guards, a lanky, dark haired man and a woman wearing a baseball cap exchanged looks.

Then the female shouted back: "Oh yeah? Who told you that?"

            "These two guys, awhile back now. They'd been following us, wanted us to come back here with them. We couldn't do it, but my sister is real sick and she needs help. Can you please help us?" Charlie watched, his eyes flicking from one guard to the other as they exchanged a quick discussion. Then the man disappeared down from their perch behind the fence. The woman looked back down at him lowering her rifle slightly.

            "What's wrong with her? Is she bit?"

            "No, no nothing like that," Charlie said, desperate that they would believe him. "She's just real sick, she's been like this for days now. She can't barely stand, and she won't keep her eyes open. We were told you guys had a doctor, people to help. Please can you help us?"

            "Who told you? How'd I know you ain't just faking?"

            "It was two guys, one of them was real tall and the other had, like, real long hair. They said they had this place that was a good place to go. We ain't faking… She… She's barely spoken today, she hasn't eaten in days, and she won't open her eyes. Please!" Charlie begged. His tone had turn desperate and he knew it. He didn't care though, just as long as he got some help for Kat.

             Charlie heard voices behind the tarpaulin gate and the female guard repeated back to them what he had told her. There was more debate, then finally he heard the sound of a metal bolt drawing back and the wheels squeak as the gates opened. He knelt down beside Kat and tried to sit her up getting her ready to stand. A blonde woman with glasses came up to him, followed by two others. One was the tall man who had originally invited them to Alexandria.

            "Hi, you say this woman is sick?"

            Charlie nodded.

            "Okay. I'm Denise. I'm going to look at her, and check she's all right. I want to make sure she's not bit."

            Charlie ran his hand through his scruffy hair. "She's not! She's not… I don't know what's wrong with her. She's just getting worse." He finally said the words he'd been trying not to think for days. "I just don't know what to do,"

            "What's your name?" He told her. "Okay, Charlie I'm going to do what I can to help her, okay? What's her name?" Whilst Denise said this, she ran her eyes over Kat and checked her trousers for signs of bites. She gently opened Kat’s eyes and flicked a small torch over them. She looked up at the other two men and nodded.

            "We’ll get a stretcher to carry her inside," she told Charlie. "Are you okay?"

He stared back at her, a mixture of relief and disbelief. He sat back on his haunches, hands running through his hair. He nodded, his throat too tight to speak.

Denise watched his face closely, and then looked him over. "Okay Charlie, come on. Let's get you in and get some food inside you."

 

 Kat came to slowly, noises that jarred causing her to wake up further. Where were they? She heard clinking sounds, and low voices. There was no sound of cicadas and the buzzing of night insects. There was no breeze, no night chill. Slowly, head feeling full of wool, she opened her eyes. It was dark at the windows and an oil lamp was lit dimly in one corner. She was lying on a bed. Panic gathered in her stomach, clenching it into knots and she tried to sit up. She felt a tug at her wrist and looked down. There was an IV line stuck in the back of her hand and tubing hanging behind her on the wall. What the hell?

            "Charlie?" She hissed as loud as she dared. Apparently too loud, as it brought the other people into the room.

            "You're awake finally," Denise said, smiling down at her. "It's good to meet you. Do you know where you are?"

Kat looked about her, first at the blonde woman and then at the other. There was no sign of Charlie. She tried to think, but everything was a blur. The last thing she really remembered was being in the forest and feeling sick as hell. She shook her head.

            "You're in Alexandria. Your brother brought you here. He's in the next room sleeping. You can relax for now, we’ll take care of you. I'm Denise, and this is Tara."

            "What happened?" Kat eventually muttered.

            "You are sick. Not exactly sure with what but by the looks of you it's exhaustion. The IV is just to give you fluids, help you get yourself back on your feet. Don't be worrying about any of that now, just rest."

            "I want to see Charlie."

            "You'll see him in the morning. He's sleeping now, he's almost as knackered as you are."

Kat pulled the bed clothes back, and swung her legs out. "I want to see him. I want to see is okay." She tried to stand up, wobbled and sat back down again. Tara grabbed the IV bag off the wall, and held out an arm.

            "All right then, he's through here. It's just a couple of steps, but once you've seen him promise you come back to bed?"

Kat nodded, and gratefully took the arm. Tara slowly led her across to the doorway opening into the small bedroom off the main room. Charlie was curled up and gently snoring.

            "Thank you." Kat could barely speak; when was the last time she'd seen him lying in a bed? She couldn't remember. Her brain felt so foggy. She was taken back to bed and lay down, and giving into the overwhelming need to close her eyes, let her brain switch off and fell back into a deep sleep.

 The next morning warm sunshine shone through the windows into the makeshift infirmary. Kat felt dopey but rested, and she eased her sore muscles into a luxurious stretch. Charlie had woken up at some point during the night and padded into her room, curling up in the chair next to her. Staring at the ceiling she couldn't quite believe they were indoors. They didn't need to be on guard. Neither one of them was taking watch. It was very odd and made her feel on edge. She became restless and legs twitched under the covers. Sitting up, she looked around and noticed for the first time that the infirmary was in fact a living room of someone's house. Deftly converted, cabinets full of medical kit, three beds and screens. These people are… They have things. They could have more, Kat thought to herself. She was lost in thought over what else these people could have, what they might be capable of, when a door opened over to her right and Tara appeared carrying a tray with two bowls of oatmeal, and 2 cups. Was that coffee!?

            "Good morning," Tara said smiling, and placing the tray down on a small table near Kat's bed. "Breakfast? Guess you guys are hungry?"

Kat stared wide-eyed, looking from the bowls of food to Tara and back. Chuckling, Tara said “It’s okay, go ahead."

Kat grabbed a bowl and shovelled the food in, barely taking the time chew it. Once the first bowl was finished, she picked up the second and demolished that one too.

            "Wow, I guess I'll be making Charlie another bowl," she said, scooping up the dishes and carried them out. Kat smiled shyly, trying to look apologetic. It was pathetic, she was just too damn hungry. Tara disappeared, and Kat looked over at Charlie. His knees were dragged up under his chin, arms wrapped around his legs. The Kid had done good. He'd brought them there, despite her arguments and disapproval. He'd managed to drag her there, semiconscious and unable to fight, even with all the growlers and nasty things moving around in the night. A wave of pride washed over her, and then she was crying. They came out of nowhere welling up and spilling over, sob after sob. She had food in her stomach, she had slept longer and better that she had in months, for some reason these people were giving her medicine and being friendly, she was in a _bed_ inside a house, she’d woken up warm, Charlie was safe, at least she thought he was - these people being so friendly… Her thoughts took a sudden change of direction - What would the price be? What will this cost her? She owed him, now she owed them. She pulled the bed clothes up tight around her, and let the tears flow.

The front door to the infirmary swung open, and a slim man with bright blue eyes and a drawling Georgia accident entered followed by a petite woman, older than him, but with eyes that were razor-sharp.

            “Good Morning,” the woman said, “It’s good to see you awake. I’m Deanna and this is Rick. We lead this place, and we need to have a talk.”

Kat stifled her sobs as quietly as she could and looked from one to the other. She didn’t say anything, instead burrowed deeper under her covers. She slid one hand down her thigh. Her knife was gone. She quickly glanced at Charlie, who was now awake and blinking at the two newcomers.

            “We should get properly introduced,” Deanna held out her hand. Kat stared at it, then after a beat figured she wanted her to shake it.

Deanna chuckled, but Rick spoke up looking quite serious “I guess it’s been awhile. How long have you been out there?”

            “Long enough,” Kat muttered.

            “We spoke with Denise. She said that you, both of you, are showing signs of being half starved. You in particular,” Rick said looking at Kat with a piercing gaze. “Without any aid, without our help you could have been dead within another few weeks.”

Kat didn’t know how to respond to that - what could she say? She wasn’t about to tell them why. They didn’t need to know.

            “How did you know how to find us? Apparently you just walked right up to our gates and asked for help. That’s a pretty bold thing to do, given that you don’t even know who we are,” Rick asked.

Charlie stood up. “We were told to come here. We were invited, by your men. It was a while ago now, what’s it got to be…?” He glanced at Kat “Hell, months ago now. They gave us this map; said if we ever needed help to come here. We needed help.” He looked at Kat, then squeezed her hand.

           “What Map?” Rick asked, Kat could hear the fury under his voice.

           “Here,” Charlie took a battered OS map out of his combat jeans, and handed it over. “It ain’t marked on or nothing, but the guy said we should try here.” Charlie pointed on the map in the general area where Alexandria lay. Rick bristled, and shot Deanna a loaded look.

          “God damn it, Daryl,” he growled, then turned on his heel and walked out.

  


~

 

Daryl made his way through the woods, his crossbow loaded and ready in his hands, as he headed back towards Alexandria. Not far behind him Glenn and Sasha were tracing his steps, though they may as well have sounded foghorns for every walker in a 5 mile radius, they were so damn loud.

            It's been one hell of a day, he thought.

He grabbed the rag from his back pocket and wiped the sweat off his face and neck then stuffed it back where he got it. No chance of catching dinner either with them two crunching up every twig they stepped on. He stopped and lowered his bow, taking out his water bottle from the satchel that hung at his side. Glenn and Sasha caught up to him and my God, they were _still_ arguing. He shot them a dirty look but neither paid attention.

            "I'm telling you that was a sick thing we saw. People capable of that are capable of anything," Sasha was saying.

            "We don't know the circumstances," Glenn shot back. "There could have been any number of reasons why someone would do that,"

            "We need to find them and we need to get rid of them, before they get rid of us,"

            "We should find out what's really going on before we do anything,"

            Daryl gritted his teeth and growled "When y'all are finished arguing, maybe we could actually get back today?"

            "Those walkers were not an accident! There was just way too many of them…"

            "It was a herd…"

            "It wasn't, that was deliberate - those walkers were deliberately put together like that…"

He couldn’t take any more. "Jesus! Would you two shut the hell up? If that was just a herd, then they ain't that far away and they could still come back this way -" he turned to Sasha, "There were too many of 'em with those marks this time. Someone is doing it to 'em which means we've got problems. Which means shut the fuck up so we can get the hell out of here," he shoved his water bottle back in his bag, and picked up his crossbow and stalked off. Glenn and Sasha stood gobsmacked, mouth hanging open before swapping looks.

            “Bear with a sore head much?” Sasha mumbled under her breath, before following, each keeping their thoughts to themselves.

By the time the three of them made it back to Alexandria the sun had well set and the coolness of the night was a welcome relief. The three of them parted ways, and not before time. He trusted Glenn and Sasha, but he was gonna have to swap out of that patrol group if he didn’t want to end up shooting a bolt in someone’s ass. He drew out a smoke and paused briefly to light it up. He climbed up the steps onto the front porch and perched up against the railing, taking a deep pull, sucking the smoke deep into his lungs. Three days ago they found themselves in the middle of a herd, several of which had W's carved into their foreheads. They'd fought like hell to make it out, and they'd been lucky; with enough rounds on them they'd managed to shoot their way out. More and more patrols were coming back with reports of large groups of walkers passing through - it was just a matter of time before they got a mega-herd headed their way.

Daryl let out the smoke from his chest and closed his eyes. He felt fucking tired. He supposed they'd have to talk about it. He'd let Rick know, and he knew that would lead to a sodding meeting. Deanna just couldn't help herself with those group meetings. Well he wouldn't bloody go… He’d tell Rick what he knew, and Glenn could fill in gaps.

He hoped Carol has made something good for dinner. He took another long drag on his smoke, letting the fumes curl out between his lips and drift away into the night. He heard sharp footsteps, then the front door swung open.

            "You're back then. We was beginning to think you'd finally gotten yourself lost," Rick said, by way of greeting. Daryl snorted, and finished his cigarette.

            "You need to come into the house. We have to talk," Rick continued. "Aaron's inside. We've been waiting for you."

Daryl looked up, surprised. "Why?"

            "Just come on in," Rick turned and went back inside. Daryl followed him, his bristles rising as he saw it wasn't just Aaron but Deanna, Maggie, and Michonne as well as Rick all sat around the kitchen table.

            "What the hell is this?" Daryl said in his low voice. He walked over to the table and placed his hands on the surface. Everyone looked down, or shuffled in their seat. Rick leaned forward, and pushed a tatty old map towards him.

            "We've been talking about whether or not we should be bringing in new people." Deanna stated, in her calm manner. "I still think it's a good idea, and we need people."

            "So do I," Aaron agreed, "We can't just give up. We shouldn't stop looking."

            "Why would we stop looking?" Daryl asked, confused. Had he missed something? He looked at the map on the table. It was just a tatty old thing of the area. It didn't even have the new housing estate they lived on now marked on it.

            Rick spoke up. "We took this off of a woman and a kid today. They walked right up to our gates. They knew exactly where we were, how to find us. You know how that happened?" His voice was deadly quiet.

            "I dunno," Daryl shrugged.

            "They told us you and Aaron showed them where we lived. That just can't happen - we know there's people out there, you know they want to hurt us. If they know how to find us..."

            "You're blaming us? Y’all are the ones who wanted us out there - it was your idea," Daryl argued looking straight at Deanna. "So some woman and a kid turn up, and you're calling a God damn war-meeting over it? They that much of a threat? You reckon it was them goin' around carving up people's heads? You think it was them tying people to trees, drawing walkers in to eat off them? Jesus…" Daryl had really had enough.

            "We met them months ago, before all this started," Aaron's calm voice interrupted, trying to smooth over the outbursts. "And they really didn't want to come here. Or at least, the woman didn't. She was really against it. To be honest I'm surprised they're even here now. That they made it even this far - we met them at least three days drive from here."

There was a short lull as people gathered their thoughts.

Daryl’s ears were ringing. He remembered those two, it wasn’t like they met so many people out there you could forget anyone anyway, the scrawny kid and his big sister - the one with the long chestnut hair and green eyes. He'd wanted her to come back with them, but she'd been adamant. He recognised the map now; it used to be his. He'd handed it over, showing them both exactly where Alexandria was though it just looked like forests and farmland on the old map.

            "They here now?" Daryl eventually asked.

            "Infirmary," Maggie told him. He looked at her, eyebrows raised in question. "The girl, name's Kat, she ain't well. She pretty much collapsed. Denise is looking after her. And Charlie, the brother, ain’t left her side."

            "We don't know anything about these two people. We don't know where they are from, if they're with anyone, we don't know if they're are threats or not. All we do know is that you told them how to find us, and now they are here." Rick argued, barely keeping control of his temper.

            Michonne finally spoke up, after staring at the table listening to all of this. "Then we keep an eye on them. Keep them close. The house opposite is empty, so we'll have them move in there. Better than sending them back out where we can't see what's going on."

Deanna nodded, and Maggie murmured her agreement.

            "All right then. That's settled. As soon as she's fit to move out of the infirmary, they move in over the road. Let's try and find out if she told anyone else where we live. And no more inviting people back for now. Not while we've got this problem with all the walkers."

            "Okay then," Aaron agreed, and everyone else around the table also seemed to think the likewise. 

Daryl huffed in disbelief, and stood up from the table. "Y'all do what you think is best. I'm going for a smoke," and he stalked out, slamming the front door behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

The days began to fall into a pattern. Kat would wake, yelling and shouting God knows what; Charlie would appear sleepily from his room and come over to her bed. He would clamber on with her until she was quiet and they would lie there listening to the sounds of the little town waking up. Kat waited for the roar of the motorcycle to start up. When the rumble of the engine first started up she thought it was her dad’s old Nighthawk until she remembered her dad was long gone… She told Charlie all about the different kinds of bikes, and he'd ask questions distracting her from the nightmares. Then it would roar past, its growl changing as it rose through the gears. It would be gone as quick as it had come, tearing up the tarmac in the distance beyond the wall. The comfort it gave Kat in her stomach to hear that old, familiar sound would come and go with it. And then it would be time to get up.

 

Later in the morning one of a select group of people would pop by - Deanna with her over-charming smiles, Maggie, sometimes Rick himself and Carol, who would bring food. The latter was usually the most welcome. Kat had never eaten cookies made from acorns before, but there was always a first time for everything. She would sleep through the afternoons, and Charlie used that time to get to know the place, often going out for walks. There would be dinner and he'd tell her about who he had met, what the people there like, how they seemed to run the place. Everyone was armed, at the very least with knives though he had seen a few of them with guns. He was horrified to find they had a school he could go to, if they stayed. Then Kat would go back to sleep, looking forward to waking up and hearing the bike engine's rumble once again.

 

Daryl sat on the porch steps with an old piece of wood rolling between his fingers. They had finally moved in across the road, the young lad and his big sister. It was ridiculous, the two of them in there rumbling around a five bedroomed house just so they could be kept an eye on. When Aaron and him had come across the two of them they'd tracked them for days. They had to be certain the woman and the boy were still people, still human at heart. They’d found the old campsite first, a fire that had been out not more than a few hours, and two sets of footprints. They'd finally spotted them following a river course and easily tracked them from there. Aaron and Daryl picked up snatches of the conversations, about food, about the walkers, about old TV programmes, about music. From time to time they'd even sing, quiet and low, it could still be picked up by Aaron's microphone. In the end it was Daryl who made the call having overheard Kat explain to Charlie how she'd be dammed if he wouldn't know his basic manners and then clipped him one around the back of his head for not saying thank you. He'd felt as lips twitch into a smirk. He liked her and he convinced Aaron that they should ask them The Questions.

 

He started chipping away at the piece of wood with his pocket knife. Whittling it down to pieces at his feet. Her whole face had changed when the two men had appeared out of the woods; gone was the light-hearted manner and smiles - instead there was a snarl at her lips, eyes hard as glass. No matter what they said to convince her that they were good people she was not hearing them. Aaron had showed her photographs of the place and Daryl had tried to show them they had food. It didn't matter - "We're fine as we are," she had said turning to go. Daryl had impulsively taken the map out of his pocket, and pointed to the place where they lived. "You never know when two'll no longer be enough," he'd said to her, his gravelly voice hiding hope that she’d change her mind. They needed people back at The Safe Zone, numbers to help protect them. And now she was over the road, just feet away behind that front door. He looked up at it through the dark bangs that fell into his eyes and wondered which room of the house she was in. His pocket knife slipped, and he caught his finger.

            "Shit," he grumbled, and sucked it to make the blood flow stop. He got up to make his way over to the infirmary to get a plaster for his finger. He wouldn't normally bother, but the cut was fairly deep and he'd run out of his own. He turned the corner onto Main Street, and passed the brownstones when Kat came out of the infirmary and began walking straight towards him clearly deep in thought. Her dark hair was tied back off her face, the long braid hanging over one shoulder. That was how she'd always worn it, he remembered. Then she looked up at him, and froze.

            "It's you," she said, clearly startled.

            He was still sucking his finger. He quickly took it out of his mouth and wiped it on his trousers. "Yeah," he replied, feeling completely ridiculous. What else could he say?

            "I know you!"

            "Yeah," he said again. She was looking up at him, and he could see the deep green of her eyes was flecked with light and dark. Her brow furrowed, her lips puckered in concentration.

"Yeah," he repeated, then quickly added "Me and Aaron, we tried to get you to come here, but you didn't wanna know."

            Understanding dawned on her face, as she remembered. "You're the one who gave me that map!" It sounded like an accusation, but she was smiling.

            "Yeah," he was really coming out with good stuff today.

            "I guess I should thank you," Kat said, "Having that map saved my life… Our lives. Thank you." She gave him a really warm smile, reached out and touched his arm. Her fingers barely grazed him but a jolt shot right up his arm and across his chest and his skin burnt where they had rested on his forearm. He stood rooted to the spot, and muttered, “It’s nothin’.”

He let her pass by, and stayed standing when he was. It had been a long time since he had last felt a similar emotion; that time he’d been staring into a pair of blue eyes, unable to put his feelings into words… because he didn’t _know_ the words…

Daryl turned and made his way towards the gate, cut finger forgotten.

 

Kat lay on the sofa, blanket around her and book in hand when there was a knock at the door. Carol’s head appeared round the door and she let herself in.

            "Only me! No, don't get up. I'll just take this straight through." She carried a round dish that looked to be another casserole. She placed it in the fridge then came back to the sitting room and perched herself on the arm of an opposite chair.

"How you doing today?"

            "Not so bad," Kat told her, pushing herself up. "Is Charlie over at Ricks?"

            "Him and Carl have been battling it out for top position in one of those computer games again… Don't ask me which one, I couldn't tell you,"

            "I wouldn't know it even if you could," Kat smiled. "Thanks for the dinner but I really should be making my own meals though; I am strong enough. Although nothing I'd make would be anything as near as tasty as yours. Think I've almost forgotten how to cook properly,"

            "It's good to see meat on your bones. You look so much better than you did when you first got here," Carol gave her an appraising look and said, "Though you’re looking a bit peaky… Have you been sleeping?

            Kat fidgeted with her blanket as she replied, "Some nights are better than others,"

            "What does Denise say about it?"

            "She's dying to shrink my head, get me to talk about it and all that. They're just bad dreams, is all. Never had them before,"

            "Would that be because you didn't let yourself sleep,” Carol accused, with a knowing smile, “Always being on watch? Now it's catching up to you - it's a wonder you made it as long as you did."

            Kat bristled at that. "I know how to take care of Charlie and me. We did fine."

            "Sure you did. Just a good job you had that map," Carol retorted, “Return the dish when you're done, won't you?" and with that she let herself out.

            As soon as the door clicked shut Kat flung her blanket off and strode over to it, flicking the catch on.

            "Nosy cow," she hissed.


	3. Chapter 3

Holding the crumpled note in one hand, Kat made her way down towards the large detached houses that ran perpendicular to Main Street. She stopped at the edge of the fence, smoothing down her tank top and hitching up the combat trousers. She'd made an extra effort this morning, braiding her hair with an upside-down plait that ran down over her left shoulder and chosen the least scruffiest of all the clothes she had been given. Feeling rather like she was being summoned before the headmistress at school, Kat took a deep breath and marched herself forwards and up the steps before knocking on Deanna's front door. The hardwood door swung open and the petite lady greeted her with a warm smile Kat was convinced didn't quite reach her piercing blue eyes.            "I got your note," Kat said, holding it up.

            "Of course, do come in. Usually we do this much earlier on than this. Come through and take seat." Deanna led the way into a nicely furnished lounge with books lining the walls, and expensive looking ornaments dotted here and there. Kat sat down in one of the chairs facing the sofa.

            "What's this all about?" Kat asked, looking about her. The drapes at the windows were very plush, as were the throws on the sofa. From what she'd picked up in conversations, she knew Deanna was one of the people who'd spent most of their time since the world gone to shit hidden behind the walls of Alexandria. She'd been living like this, with all of this around her whilst Kat and Charlie had spent nights hiding in caves, sleeping in trees, starving. Kat gritted her teeth and waited.

            "I'm glad you're here, it's time that we had a good talk. Do you mind if I record this? It just helps me when I'm trying to decide on things."

            Kat looked at the video recorder sat opposite. "Decide on what things?"

            "It just helps me remember the conversation, that's all." Kat nodded her head slightly. "Great, then we can start. So you've been here now for quite a few weeks – how are you feeling? You do look a lot better then when you first arrived."

            Kat shrugged, "Guess that's what happens when you have regular food for a change,"

            "Denise diagnosed you with exhaustion, if I'm not mistaken? I'm not surprised you were in that state, from what I hear it is pretty bad out there."

            Kat gave another short nod, folding her arms across her chest. What's the real reason behind all this smiling interrogation, she thought to herself.

            "I like to officially meet everyone, on their own, explain what we do here and how we hope you can contribute to our community. Is there anything you'd like to ask? I know you've probably picked up all the basics by now but I'm sure there's much you'd like to ask about,"

            "What do you mean 'contribute to our community'?" She gave Deanna a wary look. What did she want from her?

            Deanna explained "This little community here is growing, slowly, but I see a future for us. It's one where we are a thriving place where we can get back to the great cornerstones of civilisation - commerce, industry, business all flourishing. We still have a ways to go of course, but it could happen. But we all have to work hard to get there. We all have jobs to do here."

            Kat thought this woman must be off her meds. "Cornerstones of civilisation?!" She snorted; quite clearly this woman had been living in a different world to her since the dead started walking.

            Deanna leaned forward, "Like I said, we still have some way to go, but that's where you would come in. That is, if you've decided you'd like to stay?"

            Kat's eyes narrowed it that. "What do you mean?" She wasn't sure she liked the idea of what Deanna was getting at.

            "This place," Deanna said after a brief moment, gesturing with one hand towards the window, "This community of people has to work together - we need food, we need to protect ourselves, we need a million different things to keep this place running. You've seen we have electricity here. Hot water. There's a reason for that. The way this place was built, it was meant to be self-sustaining. We like to keep it running that way."

            "I still don't see what I've got to do with any of that."

            "Well Kat, you turned up at our gates, you were desperately ill. We took you in and your boy…"

            "… brother.…"

            "You and your brother, we g8ve you medical treatment, used up many resources helping you get better. We looked after your brother, we've clothed both of you, we fed both of you. We gave you both a lovely house to live in. And all of this can keep going on…"

            "Just so long as we work for you," Kat finished for her. She felt sick. Of course she knew she owed them, the question was how much? "Are we allowed to leave? What if we don't want to stay?"

            Deanna gave a like chuckle. "And why would you want to do that? You want to go back out there, end up back in the state that you were in? And what about Charlie? What would be best for him?"

            Kat lept out of her chair and started pacing across the room.

            "You don't get to worry about Charlie. Him and me look after each other. You didn't answer my questions. Are we allowed to leave, or are we prisoners here? Are y'gonna to force us to pay back what we owe?" She felt panicked, what exactly were they going to have to do to get out?

            "No, Kat you're not a prisoner. You may leave if you want to. But if you want to stay, and I really hope that you will, you should think real hard about what you would be gaining if you did. If you stay then you need to contribute. You'd be expected to work. It's only fair – we all have our roles to play."

            "And you're the big boss lady, telling everybody else exactly what they should be doing? Getting to live in this big, posh place, whilst everyone else is getting their hands dirty." Kat lent forward and hissed, " _I don't think so_!"

            Unfazed, Deanna stood up also walked over towards the archway leading to the door. "Kat, that's just the way things are. If you don't think you can live here then I'll expect you and Charlie will be ready to be gone by the morning. If not, then report to Maggie who is heading up the weeding and planting up of our produce area by 9 AM."

 

Kat stormed out of the house, down the front steps and across the green that lay across the road. She headed towards the training field, an area that had been roped off specifically for weapons practice. She found Charlie there with Carl who was showing him how load up a revolver.

            "Hey! I'm heading out. You wanna come?"

Surprised, Charlie looked up and grinned. "Hey! Look at this…" He shook the bullets out into the palm of his hand, and turned round to show her. He then loaded it up again, flicked the barrel chamber up, and spun it.

            "Very impressive," Kat said impatiently, "I'm heading out, and going for a walk. You wanna come or not?" She saw him glance between her and Carl, and made the decision for him. "Never mind, just stay here. You guys have fun," She turned to go, but was called back by Carl. He was holding out a knife inside a brown leather sheath. He nodded at it, and Kat took it.          "Thanks,"

            "Never leave without one," he said.

She nodded, and headed out towards the gate. She just started pulling it back when an extra pair of hands helped her take the weight. It was Charlie, who was panting slightly having run to join her. She raised a questioning eyebrow.

            "It's cool," was all he said.

 

Beyond the gate Kat was really able to vent her anger. Charlie had trouble keeping up with her pace. They'd been walking for some time, and the monologue she had been giving him was still going on. They must have been at least 3 miles out from The Zone, and it didn't look like she was about to turn around any time soon. He checked and double checked over his shoulders and to their sides, and so far all was clear.

            "… And another thing, I knew it was a mistake to go there. I always knew we shouldn't have gone. I know you did it help me but frankly it was a case of 'take and you shall give', she had such face on her, real smarmy, and she knew exactly what I was gonna say!"

            "Isn't she the leader though? Isn't that what she's meant to do?"

            "I don't care! They didn't have to help us, Charlie, they could've left us - they should have! Now they can make us feel real guilty about everything, make us _contribute_ as she calls it. More like blackmail if you ask me…" She continued to grumble. "And what's worse is that we actually do owe them. We ain't free. We gotta pay it back. I hate owing anybody anything. I mean what…"

            She was cut off suddenly by a sharp "SHh", and she stood still looking round to see why Charlie had made her stop. A little way to her left, and through the trees there was a quiet growl-moan. She peered over at Charlie's shoulder and saw it. He had already withdrew his knife, and they both made their way over towards the Growler.

            "What the hell…?" Charlie said, looking round at her to see her reaction. It was just as shocked as his own. She shrugged, not knowing what to say. They crept closer, until the Growler was spotted them, then its arms and legs started to kick and flail madly in their direction.

Once upon a time, it'd been a woman clothed in a blue and white flowered dress, with shoulder length blonde hair. She was tied to a tree, rope across her throat, around her chest and her hips.

            "Who would do something like that? How long has she been there?" Charlie said, inching closer. Somebody, somewhere had tied her to the tree and then at some point Growler's had crossed her path ripping open her blue dress to plunge their hands into her soft belly for the intestines within. They'd come across other people hanging in trees, but they'd been there ones too chicken to stick it out. At least that was self-inflicted. Kat looked closer at the woman. There was a clear four-way cut on her forehead that must have been put there before she died. W.

            "Jesus…" Kat muttered, before plunging her own knife through its left eyeball with a squelch.

            They walked on for a little while longer, both enjoying the freedom of being outside the walls for the first time in weeks. Kat was finally diverted from the topic of work at Alexandria as they pondered who could have tied the woman to the tree.

            "It's a pretty sick thing to do… A horrible way to die," Charlie said, kicking a large stone out of his path. "Maybe she deserved it? Y'know, like it was punishment for something?"

            "Maybe. And whoever it was cut her before she died… She'd of had to have done something pretty bad. And whoever that was, they just left her there… As growler bait, until she turned. Or do you think they'd go back and get her?"

            "Ha! Growler bait… That's a pretty cool idea – Ow!"

            Kat punched him hard on his upper arm. "The hell it is! If it's that then they're attracting the dead here, and that ain't good. Dumbass!" A bad feeling was forming in the pit of her stomach. Who would want to attract more growlers? The only people around here where those in Alexandria. Why would they do something like that? Was that woman once one of their own? Had _she_ refused to work for them? What was going on here? And more to the point, did they want to get involved in it?

            "Charlie, I don't think it's a good idea that we stay…" She began, expecting him to argue back.

            He didn't reply. Kat watched as he kicked another stone, then he just looked at her. He squared up to her, the top of his head level with her nose. Kat remembered when he was just shoulder height, back when everything turned to shit. She'd gotten to know him very well and could tell he was thinking.

            "I like it here. I mean… At the zone place. It's safe, and we're not alone."

            "It's always been you and me; I told you, kid, that I'd look after you. I know I let the side down, getting sick. I'm not about to let that happen again – I just don't think this place is good."

            "Why!? Because they want something in exchange for giving you something? C'mon Kat!"

            "Not just that, I've got bad feeling about this…" Even to her own ears, that sounded lame. She just couldn't put a finger on what was nagging at her.

            "But I have friends here, you would too if you just tried. They have food, Kat. _Food_! And I get to learn about guns properly, not just 'point-and-shoot' whatever we happened to find, and I really, _really_ don't miss sleeping in trees," he vented, and took a deep breath ready to reel off more.

            Kat was caught up short. She hated owing anybody anything, she'd rather be on her own, finding her own food even if that meant going hungry. But she had sworn to look after the kid, and she knew deep down that they couldn't keep going on as they had. Listening to him begging to stay twisted her insides into painful knots. Had he really hated it out there, just the two of them?

            "Okay, okay." She held up her hands, "Heaven forbid I should deny you Mortal Kombat or whatever. But if we stay, there's conditions."

            " _Mortal Kombat!?"_ Charlie snorted.

            "I mean it, kid, if we stay, we’re giving it a try out first – two weeks then we rediscuss this,"

            "A Month,"

            Kat shook her head. "Two weeks,"

            "A month," Charlie repeated, sticking his jaw out stubbornly.

            "All right, three weeks," Kat relented.

            "A month,"

            "That's not how this works, kid, y'know that?!" She stared down at him, this boy rapidly turning man – did she really want to insist on depriving him of a bed? Of walls? Of friends? She could do without those things, but it was unfair to inflict it on him. "Okay, _fine_! You win. But you've got to promise me, along with your so-called proper gun training, you'll continue with Aiki-jō. Deal?"

            Charlie's hazel eyes beamed at her, and he gave her a huge bear hug. "Deal!" He then promptly spat on the palm of his hand and stuck it out for her to shake. Kat jokingly suppressed a shudder, and took it, laughing at the action.

~

 

_The Forest was black, the leaves overhead blocked out what little light the stars could give and the night sky was moonless. Unable to see, she listened. Where there should have been cicadas humming, it was silent. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled. There was no rustling of tree leaves. Aimlessly she turned around desperate for some clue of where she was and what to do. The darkness pressed in on her, the quiet unsettling. How long had she stood here waiting? What was she waiting for? There was a snap of a twig some distance to her right. She spun to face it._

_"Who's there?"_

_There was no reply. She waited, a stomach knotted, her feet itched to move._

_Some way off to her left there was a very low howl that rose in pitch. There was an answering call that came from behind her, and another over to her right... Panic took over, and she started to run. She ran until her chest began to burn. She kept tripping over tree roots and stumbling over the uneven ground. She fell over landing hard on her knees. High-pitched laughter echoed. It came from everywhere and nowhere. She scrambled back up, and blindly ran on hoping it was away from the danger. Whatever it was, it was getting closer._

_She could smell The Dead before she heard the groans. The rancid, stomach churning rot-smell hit her like a ton of bricks. The groans grew louder, but she knew she couldn't stop. The howling started up again, just out of sight. She could hear their footsteps pounding as they chased her._

_"Leave me be! Leave me alone!" She yelled desperately. She went to take a knife from her pocket, but it was missing. When did she lose it? She couldn't remember…_

_Then the Forest became clearer; the trees were not trees at all. The stench was coming from them. She was surrounded, what she thought were branches were arms reaching for her, grabbing at her. Putrid flesh hung down like leaves, their innards were low hanging, becoming tangled in her hair. Desperation choked her. There was nowhere to go, nowhere to run._

_"No, no! NO!" She screamed._

_Wild, giddy laughter rose up around her. Almost close enough to touch, she could hear them calling to one another. Manic and gleeful the howls went up causing the dead to dance and strain as they reached for her.…_

 

She woke to Charlie shaking her, and she sat up violently almost leaping out of the bed. She was sweating, her voice still screaming. It took a few seconds before adjusting back to reality. Kat sank back on the bed and accepted the glass of water Charlie passed to her. She took a few sips, blood pounding in her ears.

            "You're okay, Kat. Everything's fine," Charlie said as reassuringly as he could.

Kat drank some more water. Her hands trembled as she held the glass to her lips, shaking her head slightly in disbelief.

            "They're getting worse," she said, tears dripping over.

            "Maybe you should talk to that doctor again? Take her up on that offer? She could help,"

            "It ain't nothing anyone else hasn't already had to live through. They are just dreams. Like she said the other day, I’m just 'adjusting'." She sniffed.

            "Well it doesn’t seem like that to me…" His young face was full of worry.

Kat shoved her bedclothes back, and swung her legs out. They were shaking as she stood up, and she walked over to her closet. "I ain't talking any more to anyone. I am gonna go for a walk, I need some air."

            "I'll come…" She cut him off with a wave of her hand.

            "I just need to clear my head, you go back to bed and get some sleep. I'm sorry I woke you again,"

            Charlie shrugged. "Goes both ways - like we agreed," he stood up and gave her a quick hug. "You looked after me, so now it's your turn."

            Kat gave him a quick kiss on the top of his head and then ruffled his her fondly. "Thanks kid. I won't be long."

 

The night air was cool and refreshing on Kat's face. She took slow paces towards the top of the street where the twelve foot steel wall separated the community from all that lurked in the dark beyond. She placed a hand against the metal feeling its hardness, the rigidity. Nothing was going to push it over in a hurry that was for sure. She turned and took steps following the line of the wall, trailing her hand upon it, enjoying the coolness beneath her touch. She made her way past most of the houses, where there was open grass and trees. Part of the area had been dug over in what looked to be planting beds and further round she could see the outline of the church against the night sky. She wondered if anybody bothered attending. She walked on a little further taking in slow breaths, feeling the pace of her heart returned to normal. The nightmares had to be caused by staying up keeping watch, looking after Charlie, ‘just stress’ she told herself. It made sense. The last three years they'd spent wandering around, bouncing from house-to-house, moving through Woods and towns, farms and fields. Always looking for food, never having enough, never finding safety, always needing to move on. Wasn't that what her dreams were about?

            A sudden noise drew her attention instantly. Something was scrabbling at the wall on the outside. Horror turned in her stomach - it was climbing up the wall. Then a figure appeared over the top, and climb down.

            "Jesus Christ!" She exhaled. "You nearly gave me a bloody heart-attack! What the hell are you doing?"

It was Daryl, looking almost startled as she was. "What's it look like? Didn't expect anyone would be around and the gates on the other side. What the hell are you doing out?"

            She ignored his question "Coming back now? It's like, three-thirty in the morning!?"

            He looked her up and down, and Kat became very aware she was still only in her nightdress just with a sweater thrown over. She hadn't bothered putting on any shoes, or tied her hair up. Suddenly self-conscious, she folded her arms across her front.

            "’Bin keeping an eye out." Was his explanation, "You still ain't sleeping?"

            Kat nodded. "How'd you know?"

            He shrugged, "Ain't hard to guess. Hear you most nights."

She felt mortified, and was too embarrassed to say anything other than "Oh, sorry." She felt her cheeks burning. Frankly she'd rather not have the whole of Alexandria kept awake by her yelling. Did everyone know?

            "Don't worry about it. Ain't nothing,"

They stood there for a moment or two, neither quite sure what to say. Kat was intrigued by his night-time excursion and bit back the multitude of questions that bubbled to her lips - did he go out often in the middle of the night? What was he really doing out there? Was anybody else out there waiting for her to go away so they could climb back in as well? He had his crossbow slung over his back, but he also had a gun and a knife on him; was he hunting something out there? And why couldn't he just use the gate, he didn't come off as the lazy type to not be bothered to walk around. Was this meant to be a secret?

            Daryl tried to think of something other than 'Nice Nightie' which he flat out refused to say.

            Kat broke the silence in the end by saying: "Well, I suppose I'd better head back. Promised Charlie by wouldn't be gone too long."

            "'Kay. I'll head with you."

They walked back together in silence, each taken up by their own thoughts. Once they stood outside their houses, Kat turned to politely say good night, but was beaten to it by Daryl who gruffly said, "Wait here. Think I've got something for yer," and he jogged gently up the steps of his porch and disappeared inside. Kat was mystified - what could this man, who she had barely seen since arriving at the safe zone, possibly have for her? He wasn't gone long when he reappeared carrying a small box. He looked a bit sheepish, and more or less threw it at her.

            "Taste like shit but it's supposed to help," he muttered.

She looked at the small box, made of cardboard with yellow flowers on it. Chamomile tea. It was a small gesture, but Kat felt genuinely warmed by it.

            “Um, thank you." Then she stopped. The familiar gnawing in her stomach switched on. Why was he giving her this? Was this a bribe to keep quiet? She looked up at him, suspicion in her eyes. "… But why?"

            "You need it. If it don't help give the rest back."

            "No other reason?" Kat probed, squaring up to him. They faced each other fully, a foot apart in the wide street.

He stared down at her for a moment, and Kat could clearly see the sky blue of his eyes shining through his locks of hair. The gnawing feeling turned to water.

            "Nah." Then turned on his heel and went back inside his house.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, thanks for reading! I've wanted to Rework another story that I started, And it has morphed into this… I hope you enjoyed it :-) if you did, I would love any feedback or comments – and if you didn't, same goes…  
> Hopefully be weekly updates/new chapters as I've got quite a good plan worked out For the story now, So watch this space :-)


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